Cities for a Shared Planet: The Emergence of Multispecies Cooperation

A powerful new vision of cities as engines of planetary evolution and multispecies cooperation.

Evolution, once associated with remote places and deep time, is unfolding in real time, much closer to home. Cities have become a new ecological stage on which evolution is taking place. Humans are now active participants shaping the trajectory of life on Earth. How can we use this knowledge to build more resilient and just futures for humans and other species?

In Cities for a Shared Planet, Marina Alberti envisions evolving urban ecosystems in which humans and other species shape their shared futures through new forms of cooperation. She argues that the convergence of rapid urbanization and accelerating environmental change may mark the onset of a major evolutionary transition—one that redefines the role of cities in planetary evolution. At the heart of this transformation is the emergence of bio-cooperative cities: adaptive, multispecies systems designed to sustain the evolutionary potential of urban life.

Drawing on urban ecology, evolutionary biology, design theory, and environmental justice, Alberti develops the foundations of bio-cooperation, advancing ecological interdependence and eco-evolutionary dynamics as core principles of urban design. Through imaginative scenarios and real-world case studies—from Singapore, Seattle, New York City, Ho Chi Minh City, and Cape Town—the book shows how multispecies interactions are transforming infrastructure, reshaping urban space, and redefining how urban environments are inhabited and evolve.

Engaging and eye-opening, Cities for a Shared Planet reimagines cities as active participants in a shared planetary future.

Marina Alberti is Professor of Urban Design and Planning in the Department of Urban Design and Planning at the University of Washington in Seattle, where she directs the Urban Ecology Research Lab. She leads the National Science Foundation–funded Research Coordination Network on Urban Eco-Evolutionary Dynamics. She is the author of Cities That Think Like Planets and Advances in Urban Ecology and has published over 100 journal articles.